It's Bitter, Black and Brewed
by Tsuyurin
Summary: University!AU: Based off the prompt "I've been awake for three days and I spent the last of my loose change on this coffee that I just spilled everywhere and now I'm crying and you're trying not to openly stare." [UPDATE: This is now a collection of one-shots! Ch1: DaiSuga, Ch2: AsaNoya, and Ch3: LevYaku]
1. Another Long Black

**Based on a University!AU prompt found somewhere in the depths of Tumblr. Written in a couple of hours with a quick edit/proof read.**

 **Warnings include: OOCness (mostly in the case of a poor, sleep deprived Clumsy!Sugawara) with a sad attempt at humour :)**

 **P.S: As this is an AU, the members of Karasuno were never affiliated with each other until University.**

* * *

Sugawara Koushi pat his pant pockets down, searching for the correct amount of change as the barista waited patiently.

"I'm really sorry." He muttered. Usually he was really on top of things, but this interior architecture design project for University was absolutely _killing_ him. He'd finally finished it in the early hours of the morning, and was on his way to hand it in. Honestly, the prospect of getting some sleep was at the very top of his wish list at the moment.

"That's okay, take your time, Senpai." Yamaguchi stood on the other side of the counter, eyes drooping in a lazy manner. "Although, are you sure you need this coffee? This is your fifth one this morning." It was kind of true… although he'd actually been at the 24 hour café since seven p.m. the night before. And also the night before that, and maybe the night before yesterday as well. But Yamaguchi really didn't need to know.

"No, no…" he almost groaned, "you really don't understand, Yamaguchi-kun. I _need_ this coffee." He finally found the exact amount of change and handed it over. Koushi sighed – there went the last of his money.

The younger, freckled boy shrugged, "If you say so. Then, a long black is coming right up!"

"Thank you." Koushi breathed. He probably seemed like a caffeine addict, but after pulling three all nights, the hit of stimulants was the only thing keeping him awake. He blinked, trying to keep his eyes open as he shuffled back to his table to clear everything up and pack his project into a large folder, alone with carefully place his handmade model into a shoebox. Faintly hearing his name being called, he went back over to the counter to collect his drink, slurring a 'thanks' as he took a sip.

He left quickly, juggling all of his belongings as he headed down the sidewalk toward Building B, where the Arts and Design firm was held. He sure hoped all those long nights were worth the project, as it could really make or break his chance at getting a top position in the internship the University offered. Deep within his thoughts, he barely noticed the paved walkway turning into the grass turf for the soccer field.

It all happened to quickly as he began to topple forwards; his project flew from its position clamped between his arm, and the coffee spilled out, scalding his hand before landing unceremoniously on the fresh grass. Damn, he was so sleep deprived.

Sitting up slowly, the events soon registered through his mind as he noted the coffee – lid popped open and the crushed cup lying so sullenly on the ground. Tears rushed to his eyes; because that seriously wasn't just any coffee. It was _the_ coffee. The coffee he'd spent the _last of his change on_. Oh no, no, no… this honestly couldn't be happening right now. He didn't even care for his burnt hand, or even his project – well he did a little – because _nothing_ could _compare_ to that stupid, freakishly, bitter-tasting cup of coffee that he didn't even _like_ , but would drink anyway.

And in that moment, everything in life just seemed to be against him, and it utterly sucked since he swore he deserved to have no such thing happen to him. So the only thing he could even think of doing was to cry. To blubber like a complete idiot sitting on the edge of a soccer field, mourning over a forsaken coffee because _nothing_ could fit his situation any better than this.

 **~ . ~**

Tears had been streaming down his face and snot had been running out of his nose in the most unappealing matter for at least ten minutes; but Sawamura Daichi didn't care.

He knew he shouldn't be looking, but it was really hard not to when you were sitting on a bench under a tree that was facing the field. In fact, it just occurred to him that if he had been staring for so long, he should have gone to help the other boy. But something stopped him from doing so. It wasn't that he took amusement in this, but he felt as though the boy was obviously stressed and just needed some time alone to sort himself out. He really didn't want to approach the silver-haired adult and embarrass him in his vulnerable state.

Daichi sat up higher in his chair, looking around to see if anyone else was watching; because grown men have their pride, and it wouldn't be good if someone else was around laughing at the scene. Sighing in relief when he saw no one, he lifted his wrist to check the time. 8:42.

His own class would be starting soon. The raven-haired man was studying to be an engineer, however, his class was in Building B for his practical class, as they were learning how to fix manual gear boxes; and that building was the only place large enough to fit a workshop in – allowing them space to build and fix old cars.

Standing from his seat, he pulled his shoulder bag over his head and swiftly walked over to the still bawling male. Daichi couldn't help but blush a bit, because close up, the man was kinda cute. Smooth pale skin glistened under the sheen of dry tears and the small beauty spot was scrunched up in an adorable way as he cried. Fishing a clean towel out of his bag (the workshop area could get really hot without an air-con), he placed it carefully beside the silver-haired boy and quietly placed the man's belongings back into their rightful place.

He tried not to gaze for too long, but the layout designs and the actual model held so many perfect details he couldn't help but admire it for the next few seconds. It didn't seem like anything was badly damaged – save for a few grass stains and dirt on the model. He brushed most of it off and placed it carefully back into the box, stacking it on top of the folder.

It was then when he noticed the angry-red hand that seemed to have started to blister. Well, that changed his plans quite drastically. Whipping out his phone, he dialled in a number and pressed the device to his ear. "Hello, Asahi? Yeah, I'm going to be late to the workshop today, could you tell the Prof? … It's just a medical emergency... Hah? Not me! Someone else… I'm hanging up now… Bye."

Turning back to the poor guy, he shook his head with a sigh. "Let's get you to the nurse." He spoke beneath his breath, before announcing himself a little louder, "Excuse me."

"W-What?" The boy suddenly opened his eyes – more tears spilling out as his cheeks flushed red.

"Look, we need to get you cleaned up, you've burnt yourself."

"What?" He repeated, completely out of it.

Almost face-palming, he decided there was no other option but to take matters into his own hands. Literally. He picked up his towel and wiped the other's face clean of tears and snot, picking up the project and tucking the folder into own bag. He then placed the shoebox into the man's uninjured arm and picked him up in a swift manner. The latter yelped softly, slowly coming to his senses as Daichi began to walk away.

"B-But the coffee…" The pale-skinned male weakly cried out. However, he didn't make a move to pull away. In fact, as Daichi continued to walk, his eyes began to droop as he drifted off into a light sleep.

Looking down at the sleeping boy, he shook his head once again with a faint smile. "Such a child."

 **~ . ~**

"Ennoshita-san! It was so embarrassing! I'm never going back to University again!" Koushi wailed. The boy was curled up on his dorm bed, crying to his roommate — depressed. He'd finally gotten a good night's sleep and had woken up the next afternoon, reliving the moments of yesterday. "He even went off to hand my project in for me! And he was hot! And really strong! He lifted me like I was nothing!"

The other boy only laughed, spinning on the desk chair he sat upon, "Koushi, are you sure you aren't in love with him?"

"What? No!" He looked horrified for a moment while he paused, "Oh no... What if I did something stupid whilst he was with me? What if I kissed him?! He'd think I'm totally gay!"

"Koushi, you _are_ gay." Ennoshita stated blatantly. "Do you remember what he looks like?"

A soft blush rose up his neck as he though back to the moment he was nestled within strong arms. "Short, cropped raven hair... a strong jaw... a cheesy little smile." Koushi sighed wistfully, "All that and I just had to be in such an embarrassing state. Tell me Ennoshita-san, who in the world would cry over a coffee?"

"I can think of someone."

"Who?" Koushi's head popped up from underneath the doona.

"You." He watched the silver-haired man pout and chuckled again, "I'm only kidding, I've seen Noya cry over his spilled drink."

"Only because Asahi bought it for him." The older boy countered.

Ennoshita sighed, "If you feel so embarrassed about what happened, then maybe you should try and apologise — lift the weight off your shoulders."

Koushi blinked at the suggestion, considering the idea, "That's probably the most reasonable thing you've said today."

"Hey!"

"No, you're right though. I should go and apologise; I mean, I caused him so much trouble." The covers were suddenly thrown off, sending a small breeze through the room. Koushi stood from his bed and rushed to his door, hurriedly pulling on his shoes. "I'm gonna go find him."

"Whoa, be careful!" Ennoshita warned, "Your hand is still injured and those bandages could come undone at any moment."

"Don't worry, I'll fix them up later!" Koushi called back, already halfway down the dorm corridor.

"Oi! I have class in half an hour and you forgot… your… key…" the other boy trailed off, knowing it was no use as his friend could no longer hear him. "Ahh, I'll just tell the dorm lady to get the spare key prepared."

 **~ . ~**

"… It was cute." Daichi scratched the back of his neck, explaining the unusual event that occurred in the previous day. Asahi and Nishinoya sat opposite him, as they lovingly shared a basket of fries together.

"Then, are you going to try find him again?" Asahi questioned, "I'm sure he wants to thank you."

Daichi suddenly looked crestfallen, "That's the thing though; he probably doesn't want to see me. I carried him all the way to the nurse and I'm sure I've damaged his pride somehow."

"You never know, Senpai." Nishinoya butt in, a bright gleam in his eye, "Do you know his name? Maybe I know him?" Nishinoya's friend base was much more expanded due to him being close with a variety of people throughout all the level of University students. He was quite popular after all.

"No, but I remember what he looks like." The older boy smiled a little at that.

"Ooh, so you like him? Is _that_ why you're worried about seeing him?" Nishinoya – ever so observant – clicked his fingers as he figured it out, "I know! You're scared that the more you get to know him, you'll actually fall in love, right?"

He visibly gulped and gave a subtle nod. Daichi didn't fall in love with just boy wandering around, but when he did, he fell _hard_. "I'd probably scare him off if he found out."

"Only Asahi could do that, he looks like a thug anyway." The shorter boy joked before engulfing his boyfriend in a hug, "I'm kidding… Asahi is the nicest person I know." He laughed, causing the latter to flush a tomato colour.

"Yuu, stop that… we're in public." Asahi whispered, gently pushing the smaller away. "Anyway, what will you do if he does end up finding you and trying to be friends?"

"That won't happen, I'll just avoid the Art and Design Building." Daichi formulated. He didn't know why he felt so adamant about avoiding the other boy, but he supposed the strange pull of attraction he'd felt spoke loud enough about it.

The tallest of the group grimaced as he sweat dropped, "T-That's impossible, Sawamura. We have workshop there." A heavy tension fell upon the table as Daichi clenched his fists, seemingly turning into a stone statue. The realisation was too much for him and he couldn't think of any other way to avoid bumping into the boy. His only hope was that the other boy was so embarrassed they both tried to avoid each other.

The pregnant silence was soon broken when Nishinoya jumped up. "Wait! You never described who he was to me!" He pointed a finger toward Daichi in a demanding manner.

"Hah? You never asked me to. I just said I remembered his features."

"So?" the young boy raised an eyebrow expectantly, ignoring Asahi's chiding; telling him the calm down.

"Fine." Daichi huffed, "He was pale – a bit like you, Nishinoya, but his skin was smoother than yours..."

"Whoa, he's really going into detail isn't he?" Nishinoya whispered to his lover.

The raven-haired boy frowned. "Are you listening or not?" With a confirmative nod, he continued, "He was about my height with a thinner frame, but he still seemed pretty muscular. His hair was silver – kind of long, but tousled like bed-hair. And he had this really cute beauty spot right next to his eye… right about… here." He pointed to the spot he remembered it being.

The whole time, Asahi and Nishinoya were glancing at eachother knowingly. "So, you're talking about Sugawara Koushi." Nishinoya placed a calculating hand on his chin whilst nodding thoughtfully. "Ah, yes… he's a very nice person. Very suitable for someone like Senpai."

"Hold up, hold up… you know who I'm talking about?"

"Of course! Suga-senpai is always coming to the 24 hour café for drinks!" Nishinoya grinned, "Yesterday, Yamaguchi told me that Suga-senpai was there even before his shift started. And then, guess what? He bought five long blacks in the space of two hours! Suga-senpai doesn't even _like_ coffee!"

"Um, okay?"

"Don't worry Sawamura-senpai!" Nishinoya jumped up again, pulling Asahi along with him. "Seven o'clock at Nekoma Noodle Bar tonight! I'll make sure it's a date!"

And with that, Daichi was left with nothing but confusion. "What?"

 **~ . ~**

Koushi didn't know what to do. Nishinoya had asked him to go to the Noodle Bar for something important, but he didn't expect to see _him_. He hadn't even realised that this was the man he was actually waiting for until Nishinoya had messaged him a vague 'good luck'.

They'd already suffered through half an hour of silence, waiting for their meals before digging in when it finally arrived. Both had yet to speak a word to each other and Koushi was so nervous he couldn't find it in himself to do anything but stuff his mouth like a chipmunk. If anything, this was more embarrassing than the coffee incident.

The other man had set down his chopsticks, taking a sip of water before clearing his throat. "So… your name is Sugawara-san, correct?" Koushi could only nod at the question. "I'm Sawamura Daichi."

The silver-haired boy quickly swallowed. "I - uh, I see. Um. Yeah…" He trailed off awkwardly.

"Look, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you last time…" Daichi tried to reason.

"No!" Koushi quickly denied, waving his hands rapidly, "It wouldn't have happened if I'd just have gotten some sleep. It was my fault! Oh, and thank you for helping me with my project; it was a really important one and I even started it three months ago. In the end, I still ran out of time, so I had to pull three all nights. And oh, gosh, I must have troubled you so much! I'm really sorry! I must have looked like a complete mess, crying like an idiot with day-old clothes on and greasy hair. Geez, and now I sound like such a prissy person! But please don't stereotype me to be gay just because I care about my appearance! I mean, I _am_ gay… but I don't think I act so flamboyant! At least… I don't think so..."

As Koushi sucked in another breath, Daichi burst out in a fit of laughter at the small rant the latter was having. "You must've had a lot on your mind…" Daichi laughed.

"I'm really sorry." Koushi bowed down, ashamed. He could feel his cheeks burning.

"It's really okay, you were just stressed." The raven-haired male smiled to try and comfort his companion. The boy was far too cute in both appearance and personality, that his heart was racing in anticipation – and it wasn't every day that you found out that the man you _might_ like was also gay themselves. "Anyway… you mentioned you were homosexual… right?"

"O-Oh, I did?" He was even more ashamed now. "You're not disgusted, are you?"

"Me? Of course not. I'm not straight either."

Koushi blinked, a blush rising once again. "R-Really? That's good." He paused, "I mean, in the sense that we can both relate to each other." He quickly added on, in case his 'date' got the wrong idea… which technically wasn't even wrong in the first place.

Daichi could practically feel the smile melt from his face. Maybe this attraction was going to be one-sided after all? As he began to frown at the thought, a waiter approached the two with a lazy grin. "Evening gentlemen. Would you like some tea or coffee to finish off your meal for today?" They held a metal jug in each hand; both steaming from the hot drinks.

"Tea, please." Koushi immediately said, as Daichi asked for the same. As soon as the waiter left, Daichi turned toward the other boy.

"No coffee for today?" He asked in a joking manner.

Koushi chuckled in response, his voice only slightly above a whisper as he replied. "Actually, I don't even like coffee… I just needed it to keep me awake."

"Then, what's your favourite drink?"

Blinking, Koushi finally smiled properly. "Well, if I had to pick… I would say fruit-flavoured tea. Strawberry chamomile is one of my favourites."

Daichi smiled back, "Next time, I'll bring you to a tea house then."

"Next time?" Koushi adopted a surprised, yet interested look.

"Yes." He nodded, "Next time."

 **~ . ~**

 **「おまけ** **: omake** **」**

A heavy thud resounded in the entrance hall of their apartment, and Daichi quickly rushed over. "Koushi, are you okay?"

A pair of watery eyes looked up at him, rimmed with pink and dark eye bags underneath it. "D-Daichi." He sobbed, "The _coffee_."

The darker haired boy glanced downward to see a pool of brown liquid spreading across the tiled area and seeping into his lover's jeans. He'd have to wash those later. Sighing, he picked the boy up into his arms and dropped a kiss onto his cheek, "Who cares about the coffee? You don't even like it."

"You don't understand Daichi. I _need_ that coffee."

"No you don't. What you need is a good night's sleep. Being the co-owner of your design firm doesn't mean you have to suffer from sleep deprivation." Daichi helped the thinner male strip from his stained clothing, tossing the items into the wash basket before bringing his boyfriend into their bedroom.

He gently placed and already-dozing Koushi beneath the doona before turning away to clear up the mess in the entrance hall. But a vice-like grip wrapped around his wrist as he too was pulled onto the bed.

"Be my cuddle-buddy." Koushi murmured, snuggling closer.

Daichi merely smiled at the sight. "Such a child." He whispered back. Cleaning could wait.

 **「おわり** **: owari** **」**

* * *

 **Done! I hope you liked it :)**

 **This is my first Haikyuu entry, so I hope it is okay.**

 **(Also, I don't mean to stereotype at the end of Suga's rant... I just didn't know what else to add hehe.)**

 **Thank you for reading!**

- _ **Anon**_


	2. I Love you a Latte

**Hello fellow readers! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO THIS STORY OML it's just a one-shot but I many people are still favouriting this! AHHH! :D**

 **Anywayyyyy, although this is complete I decided to add a little side-story since I'm in a bit of a writing mood but I wanted to keep is short and sweet so I wouldn't have to come back to it later/fuss over updating too much. Ehehe.**

 **This is set in the same AU, focussing on Asahi and Nishinoya before they became a couple... I hope you like this one!**

 **WARNING: EXTREME CHEESINESS AND OOC AHEAD! (Only proof read/not fully edited)  
**

* * *

"So close…" Nishinoya Yuu grunted as he stretched his body further to reach the upper shelf; not that he could reach much higher as he was already on tippy-toes, resting most of his weight on the counter. He was just a few centimetres away from reaching the packet of chocolate powder when a tanned, muscular arm shot forward and took hold of the packet with ease. Turning around with a sharp glare, Nishinoya came face-to-chest with the barista in training – Asahi Azumane.

The significantly taller male had only begun to work at the campus café just under a week ago, in sudden need of a source of income just at the convenient time of a barista position becoming available at the café.

Staring up at the brunet, the engineer student merely smiled and offered the packet to him, in which he snatched away with a turn. Huffing, he twisted around and gestured to their older coffee machine which was used for practice. "Go back to your soap and water already," he waved his hand nonchalantly, "forget getting paid if you can't perfect the temperature and get the right amount of froth…"

"Ahh…" Asahi gave a small laugh and a rubbed the back of his neck, "right away, Nishinoya-san."

The shorter of the two seemed to ignore him, immediately starting on the mocha that he'd already gone through so much trouble for. Needless to say, his mood had been sour ever since the new recruit had joined the café and disrupted the way that he liked to do things – meaning doing things independently, like reaching for the chocolate powder on the top shelf.

Why was an aspiring engineer even working in hospitality? If anything, the mechanics downtown would be a fitting home for someone like him.

Sighing and shaking away the negative thoughts, Nishinoya put on a smile and finished off the coffee art before sprinkling a little extra chocolate powder on top. Even though it was a take-away order, it didn't mean that he could simply slack off and not put his all into every drink he made. It was good practice as well.

Capping the lid securely onto the cup, he pushed it across the front counter and rung the bell, "Regular mocha for Kiyoko." He spoke according to the café protocol, smiling as he saw the calm beauty step forward to take her drink. "Have a good day, Senpai."

The girl nodded slightly in return, tugging the strap of her bag properly onto her shoulder and taking a careful sip from the cup. "You too, Nishinoya-kun. The mocha is perfect as usual."

Grinning wider if possible Nishinoya waved her off with a thanks, only to turn when he heard a gasp and the sound of multiple items being knocked over. Spinning around, he came to face a complete mess full of bubbles and steam, along with a rather sheepish looking Asahi.

The second-year college student almost face-palmed, but taking in the expression on the older brunet's face, he merely grabbed a dishrag to begin cleaning up the mess silently. Despite his initial dislike of the tall man, he knew what it was like to desperately need some income – he'd almost dropped out of high school because he couldn't pay tuition a few years ago,

"I'm sorry Nishinoya-san." The younger of the two could almost hear the cringe in the engineer's tone. Asahi's voice was vulnerable, as if he was heavily relying on the money he could earn by working at the café. "I'm rather hopeless, aren't I?"

He couldn't help but agree, and nodded straightforwardly. "You are." He began wiping down the old machine, releasing the pressure and picking up the milk jug and inspecting it carefully. "How much dish soap did you use?" When he didn't receive a reply, he sighed, "Next time only use a drop or two. And remember the perfect temperature for the milk is 60 degrees Celsius. If they ask for extra hot, aim for 65 to 70 degrees, but no more than that; it can become burnt and the taste of the coffee is ruined."

"O-okay." Asahi seemed surprised that the boy was still giving him tips despite his earlier failure, but retained the information carefully. He then caught Nishinoya hopping up and down, attempting to reach for another milk jug that was placed on second-highest shelf. The taller quickly moved to stand behind the boy and took it down for him, ignoring the irritated huff below him. The shorty released his glare with a resigned sigh and gestured for the third-year student to follow him.

"Watch closely." Nishinoya began to move swiftly, grabbing the filter and filling it with coffee grinds. Placing it in the holder, he pressed a button and waited for the water to move through the grinds. "Unless you're making an espresso or long black, wait for about two seconds from when the coffee begins to come out from the filter. The first part that comes from the grind is extra bitter and gritty. Waiting a bit makes it smoother and kinda creamier…"

The shorter male didn't notice the newfound expression of fascination that took hold of Asahi as he kept explaining.

 **~ . ~**

Kuroo Tetsurou found his roommate hunched over his desk later that night, religiously scribbling down notes and occasionally scrolling through google for extra support. Knowing the engineer would often stay up until the early hours of the morning, he walked over to see how much progress the brunet had made. "New project?" he asked, "I can crash in Kenma's room if you want some privacy."

The other shook his head with a small grunt, continuing his constant scribbles. Frowning at being ignored, Kuroo leaned closer to find a full dissection of how a coffee was made. It was unusual to see this; as it was more befitting for Asahi to have drawings of gear parts and engines rather than an odd drawing of a coffee grinder and how to use it. "Coffee?" he raised an eyebrow as Asahi seemed to flush red with a small nod, but continued on with his work.

The lazy man chuckled softly and stepped back – he'd find time to tease the 'friendly giant' later.

Still flushed red, Asahi recalled how the energetic Kouhai had been so passionate in the way he explained how coffee was made. Though he supposed that he couldn't expect anything less from an aspiring hospitality student... but at the same time, Nishinoya's smile when Asahi had told him the coffee was good was a memory he'd never forget. And, in that one moment, he'd had an epiphany.

One that told him Nishinoya was _special_. He'd met few people that could show such inspiring passion for what they did. Most people lived their lives just enough for them to get by, but the younger brunet seemed to have that spark; and the thought brought a gentle smile to the engineer's lips.

Not even attempting to shake the thought away, he continued writing in his notebook and making quick sketches with a certain person in mind.

 **~ . ~**

The three weeks found Nishinoya and Asahi working together more often, and the taller had finally moved off water and soap to preparing take-away drinks. Nishinoya had adamantly said he would be the one to prepare the in-house drinks as the coffee art was everything that made up the perfect caffeinated drink. That, and people liked to take photos so it was important that the drink was visually appealing when served in a glass or mug.

Even so, the shorty had grown accustomed to receiving the taller student's help when reaching for things. And embarrassingly, he found himself revelling in those short moments of intimacy where his back touched Asahi's toned chest. He had even started counting the amount of times their fingers had brushed and wondered if the lingering touch meant something. And now, all he could do was appreciate the type of person Asahi was – completely altruistic and kind – alongside with his rather handsome appearance (he'd tried hard to deny this attraction but was completely failing).

But getting to know Asahi better made him feel completely out of his league. Almost as if, he could foresee Asahi becoming successful in his career whilst he was left behind making coffee and serving stale banana bread at a crabby corner store café.

A stinging pain pulled him from his thoughts and his grip loosed on his knife as he looked down to see blood pearling and dripping down his injured finger. Cursing under his breath for spacing out in the middle of cooking, he stuck his finger in his mouth and began to look for the first aid kit. Internally, he couldn't help but see this incident as a sign that he really was out of the older brunet's league.

His conflict must've shown through his expression, because a worried pair of hazel eyes appeared before him. Yaku Morisuke, a fellow friend, roommate and reluctant member of the secret CSC (Campus Shorty Club), carefully placed his hands upon the shoulders of a dazed Nishinoya. "Yuu, are you okay? Should I take you back to our room? You look a bit pale."

"No I'm fine…" he heard himself saying, "I just think… I need some alcohol tonight."

Yaku glanced at the chopped carrots and nodded once, "Alright. I'll call Kenma and Hinata." He made quick work of contacting them whist throwing away the ruined vegetables before grabbing his friend by the wrist and leading him out of the dorm's communal kitchen. "We're meeting them at Karasuno in ten."

"Okay." Nishinoya spoke before spacing out once again.

…

Two hours had since passed and Nishinoya found himself emptying his fifth bottle of sake whilst everyone else sipped at their own drinks. Hinata, who had never taken a liking to the bitter taste of alcohol held a glass of soda in his hand.

Downing another shot, the boy slump forward and groaned; three pairs of eyes looking on in worry as Kenma slowly pushing away the pre-ordered sixth bottle. "Wanna talk now?" he asked quietly. Usually, the pudding-head would stay out of affairs, but when the problem was focussed upon a CSC member, things were different.

There was another low moan from a drunken brunet, shocking everyone when a usually bright Nishinoya began to cry. The tears came quickly, streaming down his face as he slurred his words, "I d-don't deserve him." He whined.

"Deserve who?" Hinata asked, full of curiosity.

Yaku frowned, "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Nishinoya sat up, slapping his cheeks a little in attempt to sober up. He pouted. "You don't understand." He sniffled and began to ramble, "He's so nice, and cool, and strong, and tall, and muscular, and strong. Like a bear you can depend on. He's really, really attractive both in looks _and_ personality. I'll never be enough. I'm short and skinny. What's so likeable about me? I'm studying hospitality and food preparation but I can't even cut carrots without cutting my finger. And he… he can reach things on the top shelf!"

"But there's a lot to like about you, Senpai." Hinata was quick to reassure, "You're nice too."

"Energetic."

"Passionate… and honest."

His friends all had something to input.

"And you never know," Kemna shrugged, averting his eyes slightly, "he might like you back too. Just be yourself and tell him straight-forwardly that you like him."

Nishinoya blinked once, as if the blond's words brought clarity. He jumped up, pumping his fist once. "You're right! I'll tell him!"

"BUT…" Yaku cut in, pushing him back down onto the seat, "Perhaps not when you're drunk. Alcohol can lower your inhibitions and such."

The brunet fist pumped again. "You're right! I'll tell him tomorrow!"

…

"I can't do it." Nishinoya paced around the dorm room, muttering beneath his breath. "I should call in sick for work today. And I have a valid reason too; I'm hungover!"

Yaku rolled his eyes, flipping to the next page of his novel, "If you're that energetic you most certainly _aren't_ hungover. Besides, telling that to the manager will get you fired."

"Maybe I can get Yamaguchi to fill in for me." He suggested instead, finding any excuse possible to avoid Asahi. He didn't know what he would do if his feelings were unrequited.

"Yamaguchi has afternoon classes since he does the early morning shifts."

"Well what about –"

"It's not fair on her to have to pull a double shift today."

"Then –"

"He's visiting his family for the weekend." The honey-haired male countered with finality in his tone, not once looking up from his book. "Just go to work like usual and confess when you think the time is right. If he's such a nice guy, at least you know the rejection won't be harsh."

The other boy froze, "He really will reject me… won't he?" His stature immediately slumped over, a dark cloud hanging over him.

"Whoever he is, he'd be crazy to not give you a chance." Yaku put down his novel with a sigh, "Just be yourself, Noya. If he doesn't like you for you then _he's_ the one who's undeserving."

 **~ . ~**

Asahi felt terrible.

He had no idea what he might've done wrong, but Nishinoya had been avoiding him lately. During work he'd barely been spoken to, only when being given instructions. The shorter male had practically spent his whole shift out on the floor cleaning tables and then completely ignored him by going into the storage room out the back of the café, claiming he wanted to clear the area up and prepare for inventory – even though inventory was done on Thursdays every two weeks and it was currently a Saturday.

Rather worried about the lack of spark he saw in the younger man, he approached him with caution. "Nishinoya-san, have I possibly done something to… anger you?" he trailed off a little, seeing the boy stiffen before continuing to wipe down the counter.

"No, you haven't." His reply was quiet, but Asahi caught the small quiver in his voice.

"Then… is everything okay?"

There was a silent pause as Nishinoya slowly turned around and craned his neck up at the tall engineer. "… Yes."

"Are you sure?" he pressed, carefully noting the flush that was covering the other's cheeks.

"Well there is something." The smaller man's voice was barely above a whisper. "I – um… I've been thinking of how… of how to tell you."

Pleased that Nishinoya wanted to confide in him, specifically, made him smile. "You can tell me anything."

As if his words spurred confidence in the shorter brunet, Nishinoya took two steps to close the gap between them and grabbed Asahi's calloused hands, squeezing tightly as he brushed the tingling feeling that he felt upon their contact, away. "Asahi-senpai." His tone was serious and blunt, "I really, really like you."

Asahi blinked, unsure if he'd heard correctly. "What?!"

However, Nishinoya took this as a sign of disgust, and flinched at the raised tone of the older male's voice. He quickly stepped back, seeing from his lower eyes as Asahi's hand clenched into a fist and started to shake – a clear sign of anger.

"I-I'm sorry. My… um… my shift has ended so I should go. Sorry… again." He stuttered, legs trembling as he almost tripped over himself when he began to back away. He cleared his throat. "I mean… it was just a joke! Aha! Sorry."

He was out of the café before Asahi could call him back.

…

Asahi hadn't worked alongside Nishinoya since. He felt even more terrible if possible, knowing _why_ the shorter of the two was avoiding him. But he'd been so surprised to find that his affections for the passionate young boy were returned; he'd long ago resolved to stay friends since Nishinoya didn't seem the type to be interesting in hulking guys like him.

Every time he tried to approach Nishinoya, the boy would turn and run away. He'd even talked to Nishinoya's friends – who'd been sceptic at first, but once finding out the truth, said that he'd have to try corner the boy privately to clear the situation. And although it hurt to see _his_ usually bright ball of energy walk around campus with his head hung low, the others were right. He'd have to corner Nishinoya to make sure he listened.

And the best way to do that… was to catch him at work.

Except it was harder than it seemed. The manager had rostered them to work separate shifts for the next two weeks, so he'd had to spend time convincing the old geezer to place him with the other brunet.

And when the time came finally around, he found a new hurdle to surpass. Nishinoya had a knack for dodging and tuning people out, so Asahi found himself trailing the second-year like a lost puppy throughout the empty café. He'd avoided getting too close to him, and had even gone so far to bring out a step-ladder as an aid to reach the items placed on the taller shelves.

Exasperated, he finally stepped forward and grabbed Nishinoya by the shoulders, stopping any movement. When the boy tried to shrug him off, Asahi only pulled him closer.

"Please." He spoke softly, trying to keep the two of the calm when he felt the shorter boy tremble under his touch. "Give five minutes of your time for me…"

He felt the younger male take a deep breath, seeming to steel himself for something. "…Okay, just five minutes."

Asahi nodded, despite the fact the other couldn't see him. "Will you let me… make you a drink?" He pleaded, letting his voice touch upon the tone of desperate. Nishinoya seemed to understand and simply nodded before moving to sit at one of the tables.

Now nervous, the engineer moved around to the back of the counter, grabbed a glass, and began to prepare a latte. When done, his hands shook as he picked up the drink and brought it over the Nishinoya. Clearing his throat, he shakily placed the cup on the table – his heart feeling like it was about to burst from the nerves.

Watching closely, he saw Nishinoya's breath hitch as his gaze landed upon the latte, with a distinct shape – although wonky – of a heart. It was Asahi's turn to stutter as he opened his mouth, "I, uh… Nishinoya-san… I, um, I want you to know that you misunderstood… and that, I like you too. I like how you're passionate. I like the way your eyes shine when you're doing something you love, and how you were kind enough not to get angry or yell at me when I made mistakes. So I made you a drink with all of my feelings for you inside."

The shorter boy was standing now, breathing heavily with glistening tears filling brown orbs. Without breaking eye-contact, Nishinoya slowly picked up the glass and brought it to his lips, taking a small, precious sip. Tears spilled down his cheeks as Asahi quickly wiped them away with worry clear in his eyes.

The two of them trembled with nerves and Nishinoya had to quickly put the glass down before he dropped it. But in his haste, he knocked it over anyway and spilled the rest of the content across the table. He cried harder if possible, "Asahi… I thought you hated me."

The said boy paused, before shaking his head and leaning down to kiss the tears away. "I could never."

A soft laugh emitted from the tearful boy as he broke away and shook his head. A sly smile spread across his lips and he stood on tippy-toe, bringing his face close to Asahi's again. "You're doing it wrong."

The taller boy looked surprised, "Eh?"

"You do it… like this." Nishinoya whispered before closing the last of the space between them, pressing their lips together and melting beneath the feeling that followed.

 **~ . ~**

 **「おまけ** **: omake** **」**

Ennoshita and Sugawara stood, jaws dropped at the scene before them. "Perhaps we should come back another time?"

"Yes. Let's."

"Should we go to the Noodle Bar instead?"

"Yes. Let's."

"… Alright." Sugawara began to pull away when a hand clasped over his arm to tug him back. He looked back over his shoulder to find Ennoshita still watching. "What is it?"

The dark-haired boy turned to him slowly with dollar signs in his eyes. "Shouldn't we like, take pictures, or something?"

The sound of a _whack_ and the high-pitched whine of ' _But Senpai~~_ ' followed.

 **「おわり** **: owari** **」**

* * *

 **Done! Yey!**

 **Umm so, if you guys liked this... maybe I'll turn this into a collection of one-shots set in the same universe/revolving around the idea of coffee? :D  
I feel like the style is a bit different from the Daichi x Koushi story, probably because it's a bit OOC?**

 **Thank you again for reading!**

 _ **-Anon**_


	3. More Espresso, Less Depresso

**More Espresso, Less Depresso**

Summary: That one time Lev was so stressed about exams that he started crying in the corner of the coffee shop, and his saviour who gave him a cookie.

Or: _"He's like an espresso shot. Small… and bitter."_

" _What did you just say?!"_

" _Motherfu –"_

* * *

He remembers it all too vividly. It was sometime during the graveyard shift when he'd entered the coffee shop. There were a couple of people sitting around, trying to cram for their exams. Lev was about to become one of them.

Recalling specific information was hard for him. Especially when he didn't have the chance to really apply his knowledge. He was a slow learner too, so his confidence in passing his exams weren't very high for the time being. Seeing as he was supposed to sit it in twelve hours, his stress levels were increasing by the minute.

It wasn't like he hadn't tried hard enough throughout the year – because he'd had tutors and everything – the problem mostly remained in the ability to retain old information after processing the new. There were simply too many terms, facts and theories to remember for one single exam. And there was no guessing which parts of the course were going to appear on the paper, so it was important that he revised all the content to ensure that he could at least recognise everything in the exam.

He sat down in the corner booth, heaving a sigh. Lev knew he wasn't the brightest student around, but at times like this he wished his was. Despite his love for sport, especially volleyball, there were other dreams he had that he wanted to fulfil in the future. Passing college was vital to this.

Pulling out his notes and textbooks, he opened up the course outline and read the first dot point. It was then when a feeling of frustrations yet helplessness built up inside of him, and tears prickled at the back of his eyes. He _really_ needed to pass this exam, but the idea suddenly seemed unachievable to him. The first tear fell, smudging the ink of his notes, and then another. He hunched up in his seat, only looking up when he felt a presence appear next to him.

Lev rubbed at his eyes, feeling embarrassed that someone had seen him like this. He blinked to clear his vision and take a better look at the boy who'd approached his table in the café's uniform. The boy was short, with light brown hair and hazel eyes. His stature made him seem like a child, but Lev wasn't that stupid to know that the only people allowed on the campus grounds at such a late hour would be the students or lecturers. He supposed the stranger was rather cute though. He sniffed pitifully, "I-Is there something you need?"

The honey-haired boy gazed at him kindly and shook his head. Wordlessly, he pushed over a plate with a large, chocolate-chip cookie on it toward him. Lev eyed the baked good hesitantly. "I didn't bring any money to pay for this…"

"It's fine. It'll be stale by tomorrow so I was planning to put throw it out. You look like you need it more than the bin does, anyway." The stranger's voice was soft and comforting – almost reminding Lev of a caring mother.

The tall freshman was surprised by the boy's kindness and felt lighter almost immediately. He straightened up. "T-Thank you!"

"No problem, don't stress yourself okay?"

His mood dampened immediately, clearly shown in the way his shoulder slumped back down and the waiter's eyes glossed over with worry. "Well, I don't know if I'm going to pass. It's really hard… to remember everything…" he mumbled, feeling the tears welling up again.

A small, encouraging smile spread over the brunet's lips as he patted Lev's shoulder. He looked at the array of work on the table and pointed to the notes he had. "For starters, your notes look complete and up-to-date. It's just a matter of reviewing them again. You've already learnt everything once, so relearning it again takes less time. I recommend going through and highlighting the things you absolutely can't remember or understand. Then go through your textbook to cover it in more detail."

Lev's eyes widened as he sniffed, "Will that really help?"

"Well that depends. Are you just going to give up?"

"No!"

"Then I think you'll do just fine." He gave Lev one last pat on the back before walking away to refill someone else's coffee.

Feeling rejuvenated, Lev turned back to his notes and set to work.

Not to mention, the cookie was delicious.

 **~ . ~**

He'd passed exams satisfactorily. And he could only thank the student in the coffee shop for giving him the confidence to do so. Even after a week's break, the stranger was still on his mind.

Thus, he'd taken up to gushing about the 'super-nice-and-caring' boy that'd helped him out that one night (the story excluded the tears of shame, of course). His friends had been subjected to his constant praises for over three days before one of them finally asked him why he hadn't bothered to go back to the coffee shop to properly meet the man. It was at that point he had the epiphany wherein he didn't even know the small boy's name.

"KUROO-SENPAI!" He wailed, "I FORGOT TO ASK HIS NAME!" The boy dramatically clutched onto Kuroo's arm, his eyes blown wide.

His senpai from high-school looked at him with exasperation. Running a hand through his bed hair he sighed, "Well you should at least know what he looks like, right?"

Lev nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! He was about this short with brown hair and brown eyes and he was really small and kind of cute!" He gestured wildly.

"Ah…" Kuroo recognised the description immediately as the boy he'd met through Kenma. "You mean Yakkun?" He brought out his phone to pull up a picture of Kenma and his friends in the Campus Shorty Club™.

"THAT'S HIM! YOU KNOW HIM?!" Lev's eyes widened dramatically. "Tell me more about him! Please, Senpai!"

Kuroo blinked lethargically and turned to Lev slowly, reaching up to put his hands upon Lev shoulders. The younger male was nearly bouncing around too much from excitement. "Listen here Lev. I have some sound advice for you. Yakkun… he's not quite the person he seems to be on the outside."

"Huh?"

"He's like an espresso shot y'know?"

The half-Russian tilted his head in confusion. "No? I don't think I know?"

"Well, like an espresso. He's small… and bitter." The raven head paused thoughtfully for a moment. "I mean, he can be sweet sometimes, so maybe it's more like a babyccino but with a butt ton of pure cocoa powder or something, but –"

A menacing growl sounded from behind him, and a shiver ran up Kuroo's spine from the voice. "What. Did. You. Just. _Say?_ "

Kuroo paused to wrack his brain for a response. But it was too late. The kick was like a wooden bat swinging at a bruising force that hit the back of his legs. He wheezed as he fell harshly to the ground. "Mother _fuck._ "

The small boy looked triumphant at the defeated male and turned to leave, only to have his vision blocked by a wall of lankiness. He looked up to see shining emerald orbs, "Yakkun! Hi! Do you remember me?"

"What did you just call me?" Yaku gave the male a once over. He quickly adopted a guarded expression and stood a little straighter. He wasn't about to let this odd, lanky puppy intimidate him with his blessed height. Curse gravity's grudge against him and his ancestors.

"Eh? Isn't that your name? 'Cause that's what Kuroo-senpai called you."

The brunet's eyebrows furrowed as rubbed at his temples, exasperated. "It's Yaku. Just call me Yaku."

"Oh. Yaku-san then!"

"Right… and what about you, Mr Skyscraper?" he grumbled bitterly. It simply wasn't fair that he was well over 6 foot while he'd only just managed to surpass the average height of the Japanese female population.

The silver-haired male perked up excitedly. "I'm Haiba Lev! But you can just call me Lev!" He laughed, leaning down to match Yaku's height a little more – even though he was still towering over the older boy. "Also, I'm not really a 'skyscraper', you're just extremely short!" He placed a hand down on the brunet's head before measuring the crown of his head up against his chest to compare their heights.

A vein popped as Yaku's patience was pushed to the limits. " _Don't_ call me short…"

"But Yaku-san is so tiny and cu– _geh_!" Lev crumpled to his knees from the kick to the back of his legs. Infuriatingly, even on his knees he was still about the same height as brunet huffed, giving the other boy another bop on the head for good measure.

" _No crafty synonyms either!"_

 **~ . ~**

Yaku sighed for the nth time that day, His shift at the café had been slow thus far and so he'd allowed Yamaguchi to clock off early so that he'd have more time to finish their assignment. Currently, the shop was empty, so he took the time to sweep the floors, refill the sugars on each table and wipe down the counter.

The bell chimed, breaking the silence in the café, and Yaku turned to find his youngest club member wandering in through the glass door. "Shouyou, I'm surprised to see you here…" he greeted, making his way behind the counter.

The ginger nodded and bounded up to meet him. "Yeah! I'm kinda hungry, so I decided to stop by! You know I would visit more often but," he scrunched his nose in distaste, "coffee is yuck."

"You know, coffee isn't the only beverage we serve here, we have tea as well." The brunet chuckled and watched as the younger looked at the display of baked goods. "What're you up to after this?"

Hinata glanced away for a fleeting second to grin, "Hmm well, me and Kenma are gonna meet up to play video games in his room… Can I have two of these?" he pointed to one of the golden pastries in the cabinet.

Yaku nodded, and slipped in a separate slice of apple pie into the takeaway box. "For Kenma, since you're going to meet him anyway." He explained, passing the container over the counter. He paused Hinata in his search for his wallet, "Don't worry. It's on the house."

"Really?!" The boy's sunny smile grew bigger if possible, "Thanks Yaku! I'll treat you next time we go out for drinks, for sure!"

Hinata began to exit the café, Yaku sending him off with a wave and a call of 'don't stay up too late with your games!'

The younger student merely waved back at him through the window panes of the café, a pastry already half-eaten and hanging from his mouth. Yaku sighed and shook his head, partially in amusement at Hinata's antics, but also due to the silence that enveloped the coffee shop the moment the boy had left. He preferred it more when the shop was busy – despite what some people said about his snark, he liked to have someone to talk to.

Glancing up at the clock, he noted there was still another half-hour until he clocked off. Seeing as no one else was around, he decided to make himself his own cup of coffee. Despite what many people believed, he much preferred a mocha over an espresso. There was something about the perfect balance of bitter and sweet in the drink that would have his taste buds tingling.

He'd effectively wasted ten minutes making and consuming his drink when the bell above the door jingled and footsteps approached the counter. "Yaku-san!" The greeting was bright and cheerful.

Yaku sighed internally, but let the corners of his lips stretch into a pleasant smile as he welcomed Lev into the café. "Good afternoon Lev. What can I get for you?"

"A chocolate-chip cookie!" The silver-haired boy's voice filled the entire establishment, echoing off the walls. Both of them winced, before Lev added – quieter this time, "Please."

"Takeaway or have here?"

"Oh, um... takeaway? I have volleyball training soon so I don't really have the time to stay. Unless you want me to of course, and if that's the case then I can maybe come up with an excuse. Except then Kuroo-senpai will get mad at me and I'll have to do extra laps and drills for being late and –"

Yaku nodded absentmindedly, not paying attention to Lev's ramble. It was a habit he'd grown into since most people liked to talk on and on about their day when all he wanted to know is if they wanted their order to have here, or takeaway. Placing the cookie into a paper bag, he straightened so that he could be seen over the tall display of pastries. "Anything else with that?"

Lev's eyes shined brightly with hope as he leaned over the – _very recently wiped clean of germs –_ counter and pasted a grin on his face. "Your number? A-And after that, maybe even a date?"

 _"Get out."_

...

It was later that night – Hinata and Kenma were still in the latter's dorm playing video games and the older two had decided to join them for a while before heading out for dinner. While the other three had reported nothing interesting occurring in their day, Yaku found himself the centre of attention as he recalled his moment with Lev in the café.

Nishinoya reeled back, "You said _what_?!"

"It was on instinct okay! I couldn't help it, no one's ever... y'know... asked me out before." He trailed off and averted his eyes from the intense stares of his friends.

Huffing, Nishinoya leant back and rubbed at his temples. "I can't believe you let go of your only chance. Even Hinata could do better than you."

Said boy yelped in offense while Yaku glared back. "As if you can talk! You and Azumane were dancing around each other for ages. Besides, I barely even know the guy. It seems odd that someone like him would be interested in me... especially considering the impression I must've given him."

"Oh, let me guess. He called you short so you brought him to his knees like usual?" It was Nishinoya's turn to cross his arms and give him a disapproving mother look. Yaku held his gaze defiantly and the shorter of the two deflated. "Morisuke, you're hopeless."

The honey-haired boy curled into himself and nodded. "I know."

The sounds of buttons being pressed and swords clashing stopped for the time being as Kenma hesitantly placed a hand on Yaku's shoulder, joining the conversation for the first time of the night. "Don't stress yourself over it." He spoke quietly. "By the way you put things, it only seems like something Kuro would've put Haiba-san up to."

"Yeah! Don't mind it!" Hinata cheered. "Let go get food, I'm hungry!"

 **~ . ~**

Lev trudged sullenly to the gym, eyes downcast and head hung low. Upon entering, he was immediately confronted with a sly looking Kuroo, whose eyebrows were raised in a curious manner. Sniffling slightly, he turned his head to the side to avoid Kuroo's intrusive stare. "I tried Kuroo-san... but your advice didn't work."

"Eh?"

"He told me to leave. He didn't even make me pay, that's how quickly he wanted me gone."

"You're kidding! Those lines have never failed me before. Maybe you did something wrong?" Kuroo ran a hand through his hair in slight frustration. He was a good senpai – meaning he wanted the best for his team mates. Even if it meant playing wingman to pair Lev up with the tiny demon.

The silver-haired boy sighed in defeat, "I did what you said word for word though." He froze and suddenly looked up. "Do you think it's because I stuttered?"

The older middle blocker snapped his fingers, "That's probably it! You need to have more confidence!" He clapped Lev on the back in support, "It's okay, I'm a big believer in second chances."

The next few weeks had Lev actively seeking out Yaku for a date, but to no avail. Each attempt was met with a steely look that would send him running back to Kuroo and complaining that he was too nervous.

Yaku seemed to be getting more and more annoyed as time went on, resorting to walking in the opposite direction whenever Lev came into view, and even asking his co-worker to take Lev's order whenever her came into the café. The silver haired boy wasn't one to give up so easily, but after so many rejections he was beginning to lose hope. And it was clearly showing.

He'd missed the last four spikes in practice, and had be using his face to block attacks more than his hands and arms during the most recent practice. A hand tapped him on his back, and he turned to see the team's manager extending a water bottle toward him. He took it gratefully.

"Thank you, Kiyoko-senpai."

She shook her head and clutched her clipboard tighter. "It's nothing, Haiba-san. I came over to tell you that Coach would like for you sit out for the rest of practice. Has something been bothering you lately?"

Heaving a sigh, a heavy weight settled upon his shoulders as he slumped over and made his way to the benches. "The person I like... I don't think they really like me back. If at all?"

Kiyoko eyed him carefully with a concerned expression. She took the water bottle back and handed him a towel as he sat down. "Are you perhaps talking about Yaku-san?"

"H-How did you know?" Lev's eyes widened in surprise. Kiyoko was very observant.

"I don't know much, and I didn't mean to pry, but I overheard you talking to Kuroo last week." She cocked her head in thought, "It seemed like he was giving you... advice...? Perhaps that's putting it lightly but..."

He nodded, "Yeah, Kuroo-senpai has been giving me tips."

The corner of Kiyoko's lips twitched, and she reached out to take Lev by the hand. "Haiba-san, it's not quite my place to say, but love is a very different concept from volleyball. While you can ask for help from time to time, you shouldn't be copying someone to ask a person out like you copy your team mates to block a spike. Just be yourself when you ask them out." With that, she let go of his hand and softly patted him on the back before walking back over to their coach.

Lev was left sitting on the bench, awed by Kiyoko's intelligence and the newfound hope she'd gifted him. The rest of practice had him fidgeting impatiently and waiting for it to be over. If he was fast enough, he might be able to catch Yaku at the end of his shift. It could be his only chance, considering he had no idea where else he'd be able to find the brunet.

When the final whistle blew, he quickly ran onto the court to pack-up the equipment - despite wanting to get out of there. It would be suspicious, but also rude of him to leave his team mates behind. As such, Kuroo had managed to sidle up to him and hook am arm around his shoulder teasingly. "So, I saw you with Kiyoko earlier. The others were getting jealous."

"Kiyoko-senpai was giving me advice to ask Yaku-san out. It was really helpful." Lev replied. "I think I might actually have a chance now."

The raven's eyebrows rose disbelievingly, "Oho? So, you prefer Kiyoko's advice over mine? I'm hurt Lev. Really, truly hurt."

Lev straightened, eyes blown wide. "That's not it, Kuroo-senpai! It's just that your tips haven't worked so I should try something new." He spoke, ever so bluntly.

Kuroo reeled back at his words, and Lev stilled - worried that he had hurt his friend's feelings even more so. The older boy's expression relaxed and he gave a breathy laugh. "Damn it, I just felt like a proud father." He shuddered and began to walk away, muttering under his breath. "The little bastard's becoming all grown up..."

 **~ . ~**

It was just past eight in the evening when he had said his final goodbyes to his co-workers before leaving the store. He was exhausted from not only the long day, but the need to stay actively alert throughout the week in case he caught sight of Lev (so that he could run away) or Kuroo (so that he could punch him in the face). At this point he was ready to curl up into his bed and sleep the whole weekend away.

However, lady luck has never truly favoured Yaku, and he found himself suppressing a groan when a familiar voice called out to him. He turned to face the skyscraper and frowned – there was no point in ignoring him now, considering that if he were to run, Lev would only need about two seconds to catch up to the distance he could cover. He sighed, "What do you want?"

"Hm? I just want to talk with you."

"Well, how did you know it was me? What if you'd accidently just called out to a random stranger?" He accused. He knew he was being rude, but he wanted to get back to his dorm.

Lev grinned, his pale skin glowing in the moonlight. "It was easy tell of course, since you're so sh-"

He cut himself off when he saw Yaku hold up a hand to pause him. The brunet heaved a sigh.

"Okay, I get it. What did you want to talk to me about?" The taller male began to reply, but was cut-off when his stomach grumbled – begging for food. Frowning, Yaku poked Lev in the stomach, regretting the action immediately when his finger pressed against the solid mass of muscle there. He subtly laid a hand across his own stomach, feeling the soft pudginess there after years of forgoing exercise. Pushing the thoughts to the side, he continued frowning, "Haven't you eaten dinner yet?"

Lev blinked owlishly before shaking his head. "No? I just finished volleyball practice." Yaku huffed, grabbing Lev by the wrist and tugging him along. "W-Where are we going?"

"To get food." Yaku spoke, determined. "I don't condone skipping meals, it's important to stay healthy." He continued to lead Lev off campus to the noodle restaurant nearby. Lev's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, I know this place! Kuroo-senpai works here."

Yaku shrugged his shoulders, although he'd been lucky thus far to never visit during the raven-head's shift, Kenma was the person to introduce him to this place. He pushed at Lev's back, gesturing for him to go in first.

By now it was half-past eight, and the dinner crowd had begun to die down. They were quickly seated, and needed little time to decide what they wanted to order. When the waiter left their table, Yaku turned back to Lev curiously.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

The silver-haired boy stopped fiddling with his chopsticks and looked up. "Huh? Oh... I guess I want to know you better."

Yaku was stumped by the response. He was confused – even after ignoring the boy for weeks he still wanted to be around him. If Kenma was right, Kuroo and Lev must have a hefty reward for winning whatever bet that was going on between them. Yes, that must be it. He narrowed his eyes.

"Is that so?" He watched as Lev nodded enthusiastically. "Fine then. I'll indulge you for now. What do you want to know?"

Lev smiled widely before launching a myriad of questions at him, and Yaku struggled to keep up. Their meals arrived and their conversation continued; Yaku trying to remain unaffected by the expression Lev would make when he refused to answer a question. There were some things that Yaku preferred to keep personal after all.

At some point in the night, Yaku had mentioned his love for children and his companion had immediately jumped onto the topic. The brunet watched, with a fluttering in his stomach as he'd watched Lev talk passionately about his dreams to help children in the future – thus his major in Youth Services and minor in Psychology.

It was nice, to hold a proper conversation with the younger student. He hadn't expected for conversation to flow so well.

By the time the two had finished their meals, Lev argued that it was only fair that he paid, considering he'd technically made Yaku come out after his shift due to neglecting his hunger. That, and he'd yet to thank the brunet for the cookie the first time they'd met.

As they walked back to campus, Yaku allowed a content smile to slip upon his lips. Looking up at Lev, he decided that perhaps he shouldn't be so harsh on him anymore. Spending time with him had made Yaku realise that Lev was a good person, and that he'd severely misjudged him. He cleared his throat, turning to face Lev. "Hey Lev, I – um – I'm sorry for being rude in the past couple of weeks... Tonight was fun. I'm glad I've gotten to know you better."

"Really?! Dinner was really fun for me too! We should do it again sometime!"

Yaku nodded, "Yeah, we should. How about I give you my number? That way you can text me instead of creeping around campus and calling out my name to people you think are me."

"You mean it?" Lev scrambled to pull his phone from his pocket, "Here! You can call yourself so that you'll have my number too!"

The brunet chuckled softly at the boy's enthusiasm, and quickly entered his number, calling himself before handing back the device. It may have been a trick of light, but his heart pounded loudly in betrayal when he saw what seemed to be a look of adoration in the volleyball player's eyes. He cleared his throat. "I'll see you around?"

"Yeah!" Lev waved goodbye and they parted ways, "I can't wait to tell Kuroo-senpai about this!"

Yaku's footsteps stuttered to a halt as he snapped his head back to look at Lev's disappearing profile. He scowled. Of course, how could he forget... But despite his thoughts, his heart continued to beat erratically in betrayal.

~ . ~

Lev was confused. He thought everything had gone well last Friday night. Although it hadn't been an official date, he believed that progress had been made that night. Thus, he was left scratching his head when Yaku didn't respond to his texts and had begun his routine of ignoring him and letting other people take his order at the café again.

Slumping over in his seat, he watched people walk by the windows of the coffee shop, pouting whenever a happy couple would make their way past. It wasn't until he saw a specific person that he jumped into action, slinging his bag over his shoulder and grabbing his takeaway cup. Rushing out of the café, he ran after the person who he'd never actually met, but was certain that he was the one who could help him. Surely, there was only one person with the description of a 'pudding-head' on campus anyway.

"Kenma-san!" He called, watching as the boy flinched, hunched over and then began to walk faster. "Kenma-san!" He caught up to the faux blond quickly, and stopped him in his tracks. He spoke his name again, "Kenma-san, that's you, right?"

There was a pause, causing Lev to think he'd stopped the wrong person. But he was relieved when the boy gave a hesitant nod.

"I'm Lev! I'm with Kuroo-senpai on the volleyball team!" He said, "Kuroo-senpai tells me that you're good friends with Yaku-san, so I was hoping that's you'd be able to help me." Another nod from the quiet boy. "You see, I really like Yaku-san and he keeps ignoring me and I don't know what to do? We even went out for dinner and exchanged numbers, but after that he started running away from me again."

He watched as Kenma's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. The boy tucked his chin deeper into his scarf before mumbling something that Lev only just managed to pick up. "I... thought Kuro was up to his silly antics again... so I may have told Yaku... that... you weren't being serious..."

It clicked immediately. Lev wasn't amazing smart, but it made sense that Yaku would avoid him if he didn't want to be hurt. At least he now knew how he could fix things. Grinning, he thanked an anxious-looking Kenma started to run off. But a second thought hit him and he turned to face the blond again. "One last question... do you know where Yaku-san might be?"

Kenma averted his eyes for a moment in thought. "He'd most likely be in the courtyard where the big pine tree is." He whispered. By the time Kenma looked back, the silver-head was already far into the distance.

…

Now, Lev didn't know exactly where this courtyard was located. But he figured that finding a supposedly 'big' pine tree would be would be easy enough. It took him nearly twenty minutes of running around campus to finally find the right place, and he was lucky that he hadn't been a minute later. Yaku was standing there, frozen. His backpack was around his shoulders, and it was obvious that he had been getting ready to leave.

Easily catching his breath, Lev stepped forward and placed his hands upon Yaku's shoulders. "Even if it's just one date, go out with me, please!" The brunet's surprise from seeing him quickly morphed into anger.

Yaku tore himself from the taller boy's grip, exasperated. "Lev, I really don't want to play your silly little games. Especially when Kuroo is involved. If all you want is someone in your bed at the end of the night, or some cash to keep your pocket warm, then – mmf!" His breath was taken away as he registered the foreign, but not unwelcome feeling upon his lips. Silenced, Lev took this opportunity to finally get his feelings across.

"Kuroo-senpai has nothing to do with this. I've admired you since the day we met; you're so caring and nice and really fun to be around. I really like you... I want to go out with you and have little dates. I want to stay in and watch movies and cuddle and everything. You make me happy and I just want to be with _you_. So, will you let me?" Lev spoke, his lips brushing against Yaku's with every word.

Courage sparked through his body and Yaku closed the distance once again. A mere press of lips together that slowly melted into something deeper. They pulled closer – Yaku on the tips of his toes and clutching at Lev's sweater for balance. Lev's chapped lips warmed up his whole being and made him burn alight with something so extraordinary, he couldn't help but want more. Suckling lightly at Lev's bottom lip, he whimpered when the boy grabbed him by the waist and pulled him up.

Wrapping he legs around Lev's waist, he moved to tangle his fingers into silver locks and prodded deeper with his tongue – he craved for it. The lips against his fell pliant and time became meaningless until Lev pulled away, with one last, lovingly soft peck. Warmth bubbled in his veins as Yaku breathed heavily, cheeks ruddy and eyes filled with a dazed expression.

They stared into each other's eyes, unsure of the other's reaction.

"Yaku-san, is that a yes? " Lev whispered, desperate to not break their moment.

"Of course, you idiot." The boy thumped the volleyball player on the shoulder softly, "Now, kiss me again."

 **~ . ~**

 **「おまけ」**

He was stressed – finals were drawing in again and there was no way he'd been able to juggle the amount of study required and training for volleyball quarter finals. Lev had only just found time to delve into the stack of notes from the duration of the semester.

A hand placed upon his shoulder brought him out of his reverie, and he looked up to see his boyfriend standing there, holding a cookie and a tray with two coffee cups. He was so thankful to have such a considerate boyfriend.

"Good luck on your studies Lev, I'm sure you'll be able to do it." The older male sat down across from him, pulling out his own notes.

"You too!" Lev smiled, leaning forward and resting his arms upon the table. "But, I could use some encouragement." He tapped his cheek.

The brunet eyed him warily with a sigh, "I told you to stop taking lines from Kuroo, you look silly doing it."

Lev pouted, sinking back into his seat. Yaku was still looking at him however, and allowed a small smile to slip onto his face as he reached out to grab Lev's cheeks, squishing them together. Leaning close, he placed a heady kiss upon his boyfriend's lips before letting go with his own cheeky grin, "How's that for encouragement?"

"U-Uh." The he stuttered, struggling to form coherent words. "Yes."

Yaku rested his chin in the palm of his hand, using the other to tap at the pile of Lev's notes. "Good. If you study well, maybe you'll even get a reward."

...

 **「おわり」**

* * *

 _Alternate epilogues I was thinking of:_

A cold hurricane of water splashed across Lev's face and body, rousing him immediately and leaving him gasping for air. Looking up, he saw Yaku's form towering above him with an empty bucket, his deep brown eyes filled with mischief.

"Who's the tall one now, fucker."

OR

Kuroo was battered. Kuroo was bruised. His ribs ached a little every time he shifted in his seat. But there were no regrets.

The reason: a picture of Yaku and Lev holding hands with the caption #pray4Yakusbutthole

* * *

 **And that's it! Thank you for reading!**

 **Since this collection of one-shots were published on FFN first, any additions will be posted here and on AO3 which is where I am mainly posting my stories now. This is probably the only times you will see me posting on this account from here on.**

 **I've also changed my username; it's now the same on AO3.**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**

 **- _Tsu_**


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